Thomas Ridgeway v. Barry Harmon et al.

April 4, 2013

THOMAS RIDGEWAY PLAINTIFFv.BARRY HARMON ET AL. DEFENDANTS

MEMORANDUM OPINION

By Order entered February 5, 2013, the Court ordered Plaintiff to file his complaint on a form, either to pay the filing fee or file an application to proceed without prepayment of the filing fee, and to submit a summons for each Defendant (DN 4). On February 27, 2013, the U.S. Postal Service returned Plaintiff's copy of the Order to the Court (DN 5). The envelope was marked "Unable to Forward," and a handwritten notation indicated that Plaintiff is "No Longer at this address."

Upon filing the instant action, Plaintiff assumed the responsibility to keep this Court advised of his current address and to actively litigate his claims. See Local Rule 5.2(d) ("All pro se litigants must provide written notice of a change of address to the Clerk and to the opposing party or the opposing party's counsel. Failure to notify the Clerk of an address change may result in the dismissal of the litigant's case or other appropriate sanctions."). Apparently, Plaintiff is no longer incarcerated at the Boyle County Detention Center, and because he has not provided any forwarding address to the Court, neither notices from this Court nor filings by Defendants can be served on him. In such situations, courts have an inherent power "acting on their own initiative to clear their calendars of cases that have remained dormant because of the inaction or dilatoriness of the parties seeking relief." Link v. Wabash R.R. Co., 370 U.S. 626, 630 (1962).

Because it appears to this Court that Plaintiff has abandoned any interest in prosecuting this case, the Court will dismiss the action by separate Order.

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